DES MOINES, Iowa — An elderly person or an "Average Joe" falling victim to a scam isn’t a new story. But a local mother says she never expected her son with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be targeted.
Now, they’re sharing their story in hopes that other people learn from their experience.
Peggy and Matthew have had a stressful week. An online exchange that started innocently ended up taking them to the police department.
Not too long ago, Matthew got a message on Facebook.
“He never understood stranger danger when he was young and so he thinks everybody’s his friend," Peggy said.
It was a beautiful woman who wanted to get to know him.
“Just like I said, it starts so innocently then all of a sudden, WHAM," Peggy said.
For a week, Matthew and the woman's "relationship" progressed.
"It started to move to calling him baby and 'You trust me don't you?' And then pretty soon it was 'I love you'," Peggy said.
As the scammer got to know Matthew, the questions became more and more invasive.
Eventually, the scammer tried to get Matthew to download a banking app. When that didn’t work, she got him to cash a check, buy $1,500 worth of Apple gift cards and then send her a screenshot of the numbers on them.
“I cashed it a week ago Thursday, a week ago yesterday, and found out it was a scam on Tuesday," Matthew said.
It all came to light when the check bounced.
“If we didn’t have conservatorship or guardianship, we couldn’t have helped him in this situation," Peggy said.
Then another check came in. This time, Matthew and Peggy were on top of it.
“He has since made his Facebook page private so no one can access it except people who he’s already friends with," Peggy said.
Clive Police Chief Michael Venema says he sees people with disabilities become victims of phone and internet scams often. He encourages caregivers to keep an open line of communication about who your loved one is talking to and what they’re doing online.
For some people with disabilities, using parental controls on electronics can be another option. Educating your loved one on not sharing their personal information is also a good idea.
Scams are something that can impact anybody.
Polk County Sheriff Department's Captain Ryan Evans warns that being asked to buy gift cards and send people the numbers on them as well as being asked for prepaid Visa cards and cryptocurrency are red flags.
When it comes to scammers pretending to be a part of a government agency, there are warning signs that it isn't legitimate. That includes refusing to let you pay in cash and not letting you make the payment in person, according to Evans. Plus, people claiming that you can pay money to get out of a legal matter is always a scam.